By OW JI JING
Have you seen people who are extremely outspoken on a cause on the Internet, but do not do a thing about it in real life?
These people are called keyboard warriors. They voice out their opinions boldly only when they are comfortably hiding behind their computers and mobile devices.
On 16 September, MalaysiaKini posted a picture of a Taylor’s University (TU) bus transporting participants of the Red Shirt rally. It caused an outrage from the public towards TU management.
Keyboard warriors criticised the TU management despite the fact that TU has clarified that they did not authorise the bus service for this purpose.
“Boycott Taylor! No excuse! Take our money then spit at our face!” said Ong Phaik Kim, a Facebook user.
“Stop your children from going to this racist Taylor’s University. Teach them a lesson and make them pay for their so-called mistake,” said Aubrey Tan, a Facebook user.
These are just a few of the long list of comments that affected TU’s reputation tremendously.
Of course, TU was not completely without blame. They could have done better in terms of communicating with the bus operator to prevent this from happening. However, the fact that Facebook users ignored the official statement and continued to criticise TU was unfair to the management.
This is just an example as to how keyboard warriors could spread hatred and damage an organisation’s reputation.
They tend to voice out their opinions based on emotions, which normally only spark more hate within the community. They often overlook the fact that words hurt even though they are not spoken but typed.
Besides, most of them do not bother doing a simple fact-check before sharing information, which often results in sharing rumours or half-truths.
None of these actions bring any good to the community. Instead, we should strive to do the opposite.
As they say, “make love, not war”. Do or say things that actually lift people up, and not bring them down.
Let us be generous of our affirmations instead of criticisms and be respectful when conversing with another person, be it in virtual or real life.
The next time you want to speak or comment, think about the truth. If none of them are present, then perhaps it is not necessary to be said or in this case, typed.
These people are called keyboard warriors. They voice out their opinions boldly only when they are comfortably hiding behind their computers and mobile devices.
On 16 September, MalaysiaKini posted a picture of a Taylor’s University (TU) bus transporting participants of the Red Shirt rally. It caused an outrage from the public towards TU management.
Keyboard warriors criticised the TU management despite the fact that TU has clarified that they did not authorise the bus service for this purpose.
“Boycott Taylor! No excuse! Take our money then spit at our face!” said Ong Phaik Kim, a Facebook user.
“Stop your children from going to this racist Taylor’s University. Teach them a lesson and make them pay for their so-called mistake,” said Aubrey Tan, a Facebook user.
These are just a few of the long list of comments that affected TU’s reputation tremendously.
Of course, TU was not completely without blame. They could have done better in terms of communicating with the bus operator to prevent this from happening. However, the fact that Facebook users ignored the official statement and continued to criticise TU was unfair to the management.
This is just an example as to how keyboard warriors could spread hatred and damage an organisation’s reputation.
They tend to voice out their opinions based on emotions, which normally only spark more hate within the community. They often overlook the fact that words hurt even though they are not spoken but typed.
Besides, most of them do not bother doing a simple fact-check before sharing information, which often results in sharing rumours or half-truths.
None of these actions bring any good to the community. Instead, we should strive to do the opposite.
As they say, “make love, not war”. Do or say things that actually lift people up, and not bring them down.
Let us be generous of our affirmations instead of criticisms and be respectful when conversing with another person, be it in virtual or real life.
The next time you want to speak or comment, think about the truth. If none of them are present, then perhaps it is not necessary to be said or in this case, typed.